A HAMPSHIRE psychiatric hospital is poised to treat the growing number of mobile phone users who are addicted to the text-messaging phenomenon.

Marchwood Priory Hospital, often a refuge for drug-addicted and stressed out celebrities, is on standby to help people who cannot stop texting.

The new service follows a sharp rise in the use of text messaging, which is fast becoming one of the main forms of communication.

New year revellers set a record by sending each other a thumb-numbing 111 million messages - twice the figure recorded on an average day.

Now therapists at Marchwood are offering to treat people for whom texting has become compulsive.

David Nott, manager of the addiction treatment programme, said: "The public tend to think of addiction in terms of alcohol or drugs, but people can become dependent on anything.

"Part of the problem is that everything is more available than it used to be, including various forms of technology.

"Young people often text because it's cheaper than entering into a long conversation, while others like the buzz they get from receiving a message.

"For some, texting is a way of communicating with another person without revealing their true emotions."

Therapists at the Priory Hospital, Roehampton, have already treated patients who were texting for up to seven hours a day. One of the clients had developed repetitive strain injury as a result of constant messaging.

Nationally more than 20 billion text messages were sent in 2003 - the figure is expected to be even higher this year.

A survey carried out by mobile phone insurer CPP revealed that text messaging had more than doubled since March 2002. Researchers found that eight out of ten young people were more likely to send someone a text than speak to them in person.

Some of the busiest texters could soon be seeking help at Marchwood.

The privately owned hospital, which opened in 1987, treats patients suffering from a wide range of mental health problems and addictions.

Soccer star Paul Merson was weaned off his addiction to cocaine, and troubled entertainer Michael Barrymore was treated for nervous exhaustion.